Andino move may or may not signal moves ahead

With the deadline to submit 40-man rosters ahead of the Rule 5 draft in December the Mariners have traded outfielder Trayvon Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles for 28-year-old utility infielder Robert Andino.

The 40-man roster remains at 37 with the move as Andino replaces Robinson on it. What he doesn't bring is options as he is out of them, meaning he will have to remain on the big league club or be placed on waivers in order to send him to the minors. The hope is he will make the club out of spring training and stick as the backup shortstop.

"With Robert having major league and playoff experience and still relatively young, we thought that it made sense to make this trade and let him come in and compete," general manager Jack Zduriencik said in the press release.

Andino is a career .235 hitter who has played in parts of eight Major League seasons.

Andino joins a bench that right now includes Chone Figgins. This move would not seem to impact that as it would appear that with his ability to play shortstop on a long term basis, Andino is more of a replacement for Munenori Kawasaki. That said, the Mariners have a number of young players they would like to protect on the 40-man roster and limited spots. A player or players most likely will need to be dropped from the roster in order to make room for them and Figgins very well could be one of the players moved.

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